Boonville hosts Martial Arts Grand Master

On Saturday, January 21, the Boonville high school wrestling gym was filled with a different kind of athlete, martial artists, providing an impressive display of discipline, respect, and technique.

Approximately 40 students ranging in ages 4-63 from the Students of The Way Martial Arts in Boonville put their skills to the test, showing their knowledge and ability for the school’s first rank promotion testing. This testing was extraordinary as students performed their newly honed skills in front of the American Taekwondo Association’s (ATA) highest ranking official, Grand Master In Ho Lee.

The majority of the schools students were beginning white belts testing for the next belt rank promotion, orange belt. The ATA’s belt promotion system consists of nine color belts with increasing skill curriculum before earning the landmark first degree black belt. Each belt has its own philosophy for example, the student training as a white belt is, “Pure and without knowledge of Songahm Taekwondo”. At the end of the testing, Grand Master Lee spoke to the friends and families attending the event saying, “Martial arts has been scientifically proven to improve motor skills and brain function for practicing students”, adding that he was very proud to see Mr. Taft’s students representing the ATA. Mr. Taft’s instructor, Senior Master Jack Wennen, also attended the testing event. He said, “Kids that study martial arts get better grades in school and martial arts helps to prepare kids to be leaders in a competitive world”.  

The Way Martial Arts, an independently owned and operated affiliate of the ATA, is located in Boonville’s Main Street Shopping Center, at 520 Ryan Street. The school instructs students in the discipline of Songahm Taekwondo, “The Martial Art that trains students both Mentally and Physically”. The Way Martial Arts began operating in the Boonville area in the fall of 2011, led by husband and wife team Mr. Russ Taft and Mrs. Sarah Taft. Chief Instructor and owner of The Way Martial Arts, Mr. Russ Taft, third degree Black Belt in Songahm Taekwondo, has been teaching martial arts for over 25 years. “As a little boy I had posters of Eternal Grand Master H.U. Lee and Grand Master In Ho Lee on the walls of my bedroom. This is truly a dream come true for me”, said Mr. Taft, about this past weekends events.

Grand Master In Ho Lee heads the worlds largest martial arts organization, the ATA, with over 350,000 members worldwide.

The ATA was founded in 1969 by Eternal Grand Master, H.U. Lee in Omaha, NE. Taekwondo, which means the way of the foot and fist, is known in the martial arts community for its flashy kicks, with notable students such as Chuck Norris and Bill “Super Foot” Wallace. The ATA trained Noah Ringer, star of the film, The Last Air Bender, and the ATA’s subsidiary, XMA (Extreme Martial Arts), trained both Jaden Smith, star of The New Karate Kid, and Taylor Lottner, from the Twilight series movies.
The judging panel consisted of two third degree black belts, one fifth degree masters candidate, one senior master seventh degree black belt and one grand master head of ATA.